Clover Moore’s early career boosted by gay and lesbian voters

In this week's edition of Throwback Thursday, the Star Observer raided its archives and found a 1991 front page that somewhat coincides with Sydney Lord Mayor Clover Moore's 10-year anniversary in local politics.

THIS month, Sydney Lord Mayor Clover Moore celebrated 10 years since she was popularly elected to office as an independent candidate.

A longtime ally of the LGBTI community in Sydney and nationally, before she became the Lord Mayor of one Australia’s richest city councils, Cr Moore already had a burgeoning career in NSW politics.

She was first elected as the independent MP for the seat of Bligh in 1988 and remained in state politics until 2012, when she stepped down due to new laws that prevented NSW MPs from holding positions in councils and state parliament simultaneously.

In 1991, the Star Observer had a front page plus a double-page feature on Cr Moore’s first re-election to state parliament (see images below), in which Sydney’s LGBTI community played a part in boosting her vote count.

It was also this election that, along with two other independent MPs, saw her gain the balance of power in state parliament.

Her increased profile as a politician paved the way for her in local politics as well as help her retain her state electorate, which was renamed Sydney in 2007 after a redistribution of electoral boundaries.

When she stepped down from state politics in 2012, the by-election that ensued saw Alex Greenwich, her endorsed candidate and former national convenor of Australian Marriage Equality, take over her as the new Sydney state independent MP.